


All Those Stars Recall Your Goodbye

by QueenEevee



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, I'm so sorry klance kingdom y'all don't deserve this right now, M/M, Near Death Experiences, Not Canon Compliant, Ya girl still hasn't watch S8 and honestly? I have very few plans to, also this is so unnecessarily dramatic lmao please don't take me too seriously, implied major character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-17 22:53:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16983330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenEevee/pseuds/QueenEevee
Summary: Keith hated this part in romantic movies. Absolutely loathed the near-death confessions. They just weren’t fair. If the other person didn’t feel the same way, they were now forced to choose between breaking a heart or lying to their companion with seconds ticking away, just minutes remaining on their lives. Or, if they did feel the same way, they now died knowing of the missed opportunity and the wasted potential.It was over-dramatic and pointless, but he now finally understood why those characters always went through the effort.AKA I was inspired by the art of@friendlyaxeand@inkymiand instead of studying for finals, I churned this angst out





	All Those Stars Recall Your Goodbye

**Author's Note:**

  * For [astralscrivener](https://archiveofourown.org/users/astralscrivener/gifts).



> astralscrivener 10:36: U COME INTO MY HOUSE,  
> astralscrivener 10:37: SADIST  
> astralscrivener 10:37: AND M A S O C H I S T  
> astralscrivener 10:38: why do u love suffering
> 
> This fic is entirely dedicated to Eileen (astralscrivener) who started this brainchild with me, and, with absolute horror, had to watch me finish it. Ily <3
> 
> For extra sads, please listen to [M-54](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcWRRLbEtAI) while you read this I PROMISE it will be worth it

 

_“Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome.” ~Isaac Asimov_

 

    “Hey, Keith?”

    Keith moved his head slightly but gave no response. He was afraid that if he tried to speak, his voice would sound like ash, and he was so busy trying to keep his eyes open, keep breathing, that he almost didn’t register Lance’s voice at all.

    “Hey, Keith,” Lance repeated again, more tentative this time. “Are we going to die?”

    Keith looked at the warning flashing across his helmet one more time―OXYGEN LOW: 10 MINUTES REMAINING―and wondered if he really wanted to know the answer. Lance’s proceeding shuddering sigh told him that he already did.

_Any chance of rescue would have come ages ago._

    They had been floating for hours now. It had just been a mission gone wrong; a combination of poor planning, exhaustion, and the _stupid_ mistake to not check if their correspondences with the planet they had _intended_ on liberating had been intercepted by any Galra ships. The plan was blown apart the second they stepped foot into the galaxy, and by the end of the battle, the lions were in no better shape. Red and Blue fared the worst. Still, Keith couldn't bring himself to regret his, admittedly self-sacrificial, attempt to save Pidge and Green from a particularly nasty blast, and being a main target of enemy fire was something Lance had become accustomed to as one of their offense fighters. In broken lions, pulsing with nothing but a faint, red light, they had quickly become sitting ducks for the ion cannon. With a desperate shout, Shiro had commanded for them to climb into another lion as Allura and Coran prepared them for a hurried escape. In the feeble attempt to escape from Red and Blue’s life-less cockpits and quickly jet into Yellow, the cannon's plasma beam had exploded, sending Keith and Lance hurtling backwards into the dark. They could do nothing to fight against the blast as weak and injured as they were, and they barely had enough strength to cry in protest as they watched Allura frantically wormhole the ship, their friends, and the lions away. At least they had had half a mind to grab onto each other and wait until they came to a tumbling stop to link their elbows, press their backs together, and pray for help.

    Which is what brought them to where they were: drifting in the middle of nowhere, unable to do anything but watch the obliterated planet they failed to save grow smaller and smaller as they drifted further away, like a merciless taunt. Static from their communicators filled up the empty space their voices left behind, as their communicators stubbornly refused to pick up any signal but each other’s. They had finally tired themselves out from yelling for help and crying soft tears of disbelief (that, in unspoken agreement, they had each chose to politely ignore). They had nothing but their suits and their bayards to their names, the only proof they could give to the black abyss that they did indeed belong to something, somewhere.

_It’s a coalition. It’s called Voltron. We rescue people._

_Most of the time._

    “I’m so sorry, Lance,” Keith stuttered out finally.

    “Don’t be,” Lance whispered, sniffling lightly and tilting his head back so he could look at Keith. “It’s not like this was your fault.”

    In spite of everything, Keith still had time to harbor a flickering thought of how _blue_ Lance’s eyes were in the starlight, shimmering with unshed tears. If the helmets weren’t present, he’d try to wipe them away. Or maybe not. Impending death or otherwise, Keith was still an emotional coward.

    “Well, nonetheless, I’m still sor―”

    “Keith, what are we going to do?”

    A valid question. Keith had no answer. The sheer amount of honesty the question required him to answer with scared him, and he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t been purposely ignoring the thought of death's inevitability this whole time in favor of focusing on more trivial things, like the feeling of Lance’s armor pressing into his or the fog his breath created on his visor.

    Keith was _terrified_ , even with little as he had to lose, so he couldn’t even begin to imagine how Lance was feeling.

    “I mean...we can’t just...lie down and _die_ here can we? Keith, I-I have so much I wanted to do, so much I wanted to _see_ , we have to get back to Voltron―they can’t continue without us. We have to go home, god, _home_ , _Jesus_ , _Keith_. I need to see my _family_ again, they have no idea where I am, I need to tell my mom I’m okay and let my little cousins know that the Garrison didn’t kill me and if I die I’ll never get to do that I’ll never get to hug Pidge again or make Hunk laugh or―”

    “ _Lance._ ” Keith breathed, desperate for him to stop. He could feel Lance’s shuddering breaths against his back and Keith bit his quivering lip, begging the lump in his throat to dissolve.

    “Keith.” A soft choke, a crack in the voice, and his own name had never sounded so heartbreaking. “I don’t want to die.”

    Lance crumpled. The acknowledgement destroyed him. He broke down into heavy sobs, crying like that alone could bring air back into his helmet and a ship back to their little corner of the galaxy. Keith felt tears start to prick at his own eyes, but he refused to submit to the panic. He would not let them die of hysteria.

    “Lance. Hey, Lance. Look at me.”

    Un-linking himself from one elbow, Keith was able to maneuver Lance until they were facing each other, Keith's breath catching in his throat as he truly stared Lance in the face for the first time since they were stranded. His eyes were red and puffy, filled to the brim with tears and desperation, and his lips were worn from being worried under his teeth. He clutched onto Keith’s wrists like a lifeline and looked at his feet, shoulders shaking, not meeting Keith’s own shining eyes.

    “Lance, it’s going to be oka-”

    “ _HOW_ could you even _POSSIBLY_ say that to me right now,” Lance roared, spitting in rage and fighting to yank his hands away from Keith’s instinctively. But he immediately relaxed when Keith frantically gripped tighter, remembering exactly where he was.

    “I’m sorry,” Keith apologized again, fumbling for words to make amends, “God, I’m _so_ sorry. I know that sounded like an empty promise, but we need to calm down. We don’t...we don’t have enough oxygen to freak out.”

    Lance peered at him incredulously before conceding, exhaling an unsteady breath and sniffing again.

    “You’re right. You’re right. I’m sorry too.”

    His frown pierced Keith’s heart and he desperately tried to think of something to talk about, anything to get their minds off their impending doom if only for a couple minutes. But it was impossible when his mind was plagued with the single, despairing thought of death. More static. More silence. He focused on the pressure of Lance's grip on his wrists and the shifting of their feet.

    “...I have a secret I never told you.” Lance’s weary voice suddenly came in through the microphone. He must have been compelled to speak by the OXYGEN DANGEROUSLY LOW: 5 MINUTES REMAINING warning that just blinked across Keith’s helmet as well.

    Desperation is one hell of a truth serum.

    “What is it?”

    Lance went quiet, thinking for a minute before meeting Keith’s eyes, pinning him with the intensity of his gaze.

    “I’m almost _positive_  you can guess what I’m about to say.”

    He could. “I haven’t the faintest idea.”

    Lance quirked his lips and blew out a deep breath. “Keith, I think I love you.”

    Keith hated this part in romantic movies. Absolutely loathed the near-death confessions. They just weren’t _fair_. If the other person didn’t feel the same way, they were now forced to choose between breaking a heart or lying to their companion with seconds ticking away, just minutes remaining on their lives. Or, if they did feel the same way, they now died knowing of the missed opportunity and the wasted potential.

    It was over-dramatic and pointless, but he now finally understood why those characters always went through the effort.

    The _relief_ on Lance’s face was palpable. Like a weight had been lifted off his tired shoulders and even amidst the puffiness and the exhaustion, Keith could see bits of desperation fade from his eyes.

_When you die, do it with no regrets._

    “I have a secret I never told you as well.”

    Lance froze. Keith hesitated, suddenly unsure as to how to word his response.

    “We, uh...we got married...in the future.”

    Lance blinked and residue tears that had been clinging to his eyelashes traced the familiar tear tracks on his cheeks. He croaked weakly.

    “What?”

    “When I was with Krolia―” Keith’s breath caught, and he cleared his throat, averting his stare from Lance’s confused, blue one, “When I was with Krolia―I told you this―we were on a planet where, with every flash of light―”

    “―You saw a piece of your possible future or your past,” Lance responded, voice shaking as realization dawned on him.

    “And in one of the flashes I saw…me. But I was so much older, at least by 10 years, and I was holding a little baby girl. I had no idea who she was or where I was until I heard a familiar voice down the hallway yell at me to ‘Stop cradling her and just let her nap.’” Keith laughed softly at the memory of the warm room and the house that felt like home and he blinked twice to clear the tears returning to blur his vision.

    “To which future-me replied: ‘She probably likes it. You never seemed to mind.’”

    Keith’s smile wavered as he coughed over the lump in his throat, tightening his grip on Lance’s hands.

    “And you laughed. You laughed and I would have known it was you even if I hadn’t heard your voice before, hadn’t seen the pictures on the wall, or the tattoo on my wrist, or the blue gem in the ring on my finger, I just…I knew.”

    It was only then that Keith lifted his teary smile to Lance, watching fat tears drip down his cheeks, around his open mouth, as he gaped, shocked and heartbroken.

     _This_ was why he hated near-death confessions.

    “Lance, I’ve loved you since the day I almost led the team into a trap and you talked me out of my self-doubt, told me I could still be a good leader, and I would have loved you every day after that until the end of time.” He tried to keep smiling, but the shivers racing through his body and the sobs blooming in his throat made the corners of his mouth shake.

    “I’m only sorry that I might never be able to show that to you.”

    Lance swallowed, still staring as he took in Keith’s confession. He said nothing, but suddenly pulled Keith to his chest and crushed him in a hug, bringing him as close as their armor would allow. He dropped his head on Keith’s shoulder and Keith instinctively brought his hands up, one to cup the back of Lance’s helmet and the other to carefully hold his waist. Lance’s quiet, wobbling laugh was barely picked up by the comm mics, but his soft reply still reached Keith.

    “Either way, I’m still glad I got to spend the rest of my life with you.”

    Keith curled his hands into fists, wishing he could grip onto Lance’s shirt or the curls of his hair instead, and cried.

 

    OXYGEN CRITICALLY LOW: 1 MINUTE REMAINING

 

_“I wish I could kiss you.”_

_“Don’t even try. I don’t want to watch you die sooner than I have to.”_

_“How can you even make a joke about that right now.”_

_“If I don’t joke about it, I might hyperventilate.”_

_“...Touché.”_

 

_“...I wish I could kiss you too.”_

_“I wish we had done this sooner.”_

_“Me too. I wish I hadn’t been so harsh on you as the leader.”_

_“Honestly, sometimes I needed it. I wish I hadn’t started that stupid rivalry with you. You knew it was all out of jealousy and affection, right?”_

_“Of course I did. Besides, I always found it fun and it certainly made us work harder. I wish I_ _could talk to Shiro again.”_

_“Ditto, but to everyone on the team.”_

_“And my mom.”_

_"_ Especially _my mom.”_

 

_“I wonder what we named that little girl.”_

_“I wonder if dying is as scary as they say.”_

_“Lance.”_

_“Sorry, sorry, it’s just...all I can think about…”_

_“I’ve always heard it’s like falling asleep.”_

_“Yeah? That’s not too bad.”_

_“And I’ll be here the whole time.”_

_“Of course you will, where else would you go?”_

_“Asshole.”_

_“You love me.”_

_“...I do, dearly.”_

 

_“...I would have named her Esperanza.”_

_“That’s a beautiful name. What does it mean?”_

_“In Spanish? Hope.”_

 

    Panicked beeping from his helmet, a hiss of air, Lance’s weepy smile, and the twinkling of distant lights were the last things Keith took in as he closed his eyes, focusing on the trivial things as he tried to fall asleep.

    Like the feeling of Lance’s armor against his. Like the memory of his daughter, Esperanza. Like the thrumming of warmth in his heart, despite his chills. Like the sound of Lance’s breaths slowing as he let sleep finally blanket him.

    Like the stars.

    All things considered, it was a heavenly place to die.

 

_“I mean, they say you die twice. One time when you stop breathing and a second time, a bit later on, when somebody says your name for the last time.” ~Banksy_

**Author's Note:**

> ((((I promise they aren't dead, they're just idiots: Keith LITERALLY said he saw that scene in his FUTURE like, this isn't one of Slav's alternate realities. They're okay, I promise, I just had to I'm sorry plsdontkillme))))
> 
> If anyone wants a short continuation where these boys actually get a happy ending lmk I'll totally write it (hopefully NOT during finals week this time smh but don't worry guys, my grades are perfectly alright in spite of absolutely everything)
> 
> Thanks for reading this telenovela of a fic, I adore you all <3 
> 
> Title from [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAvJs_YhnEs)  
> Inspired by [this](https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq8MzAjg-ZC/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=gm7olmarn59h) post  
> and [this](https://twitter.com/friendlyaxe/status/1072627256672043018?s=12) one 
> 
> Go give the artists some love <333 They're FANTASTIC


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